Island Roads say that public feedback on changes to weeding across the Isle of Wight has been ‘very positive’, despite many residents now complaining about the number of weeds visible on the streets.
In recent weeks complaints have been made on social media about how unkempt the roads are starting to look, particularly in residential areas. These complaints come just months after a major change in how Island Roads tackle the problem…
Previously, the Isle of Wight road network was treated using glyphosate-based herbicides applied by contractors on quad bikes – a regular sight across the Island for decades. However, back in March, the decision was taken to switch to manual weed control using organic herbicides.
Island Roads say they are still meeting their contractual obligations by carrying out treatments 3 times a year and highlight that the contract does not require them to treat every road. That said, it’s known that roads that were previously visited by the herbicide sprayers on quad bikes have not yet been visited by the manual weed control gang, leaving the street scene untidy and unloved.
Basic math demonstrates that it’s impossible for manual workers to cover the same distance as a sprayer mounted to a quad bike, with the work taking longer to achieve too.
Some locals have taken matters into their own hands by clearing weeds outside their homes themselves.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Island Roads has said:
“Under the Highways PFI contract, we are not required to keep the highway free of weeds at all times. Instead, following a change to the contract, we are required to carry out three treatments per year which we do. We also intervene if and when weed growth creates a safety hazard.
“There has been no reduction in the area we are required to treat.
“Therefore, and particularly so in periods of intermittent rain and sun which create the optimum environment for weeds to flourish, it is likely that there will be weeds present at some times on the network.
“Public feedback on this year’s switch to manual weed control using organic herbicides as opposed to quad bikes and a glyphosate-based herbicide has been very positive. We have taken on additional staff in order to carry out the work in this new way.
“The issue of weed control is kept under review”.
What are your thoughts? Have you noticed how unkempt your road is starting to look? Comment below…
Not island rogues for nothing
We should have a rebate and pay less on our council tax.
I can sadly understand that there is a place for non-mechanical weeding in hard surfaces.
Glyphosate does have merit when used moderately, but the overuse and often blanket spraying from quad bikes is excessive.
Council contractors should be directed to a variety of techniques, dependant on each location.
Hot foam, mechanical weeding (hoeing/strimming), knapsack spraying, or just hand weeding.
Our roads and pavements are so old and poorly maintained there won’t be a ‘one fit’ for every situation, but a joined up approach to tackle weeds will help the environment and also avoid costly repairs to our roads and hard surfaces in the future
On one of the main road junctions in Cowes the weeds are nearly as tall as the ‘Keep Left’ bollard they are growing from, I think this plan of action may be a little short sighted, saving on using chemicals yes, but instead we have petrol or diesel vans running round for the staff to do the weeding followed by a Road Sweeper to tidy up and then in a year or so they will need to repair the roads and pavements where the roots of the weeds have destroyed the tarmac, yet more pollution and another contribution to the Carbon Footprint in manufacturing, transporting and laying of said tarmac etc.
Yes, weeds damaging the tarmac edges… rain gets in… freezes… potholes. very short sighted.
Yes on downsview road in shanklin weeds are growing through the pavment witch was laid not so long ago
Im waiting for someone to trip over them so they can take whoever is supposed to look after them to court.
If IE would like photos I would gladly take some for you
And washes down drains which causes flooding!
they could have made great savings by using the equivalent of an electric golf cart and organic spray, instead of a petrol quad bike
do these people actually think at all.
they are spending more money on more staff, with more running costs, which we then get extra demands for higher taxes from the council because they have a shortfall
get rid of these useless decision makers.
Talking of extra staff this morning two men with hoes went passed my house removing the weeds followed by Trigger with his broom. He had to sweep it into the road because they had taken his barrow away keep expenses down.
Think an electric golf cart would be a lot more expensive tobuy than a petrol one. Another problem with them is thay have to be taken back to their charging point when they run out of “fuel” rather than being topped up from a can. Electric vehicles are not all they are being cried out to be.
The Grass and weeds growing all over the Island’s roads is a terrible look, I fully understand people cutting the foliage, but that just feeds into the councils hands, and will see the council move the responsibility to local residence.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH COUNCIL!
My house is the only one in the road with no weeds in front of it because I have been removing them myself and also sweeping directly in front of it because we never get a road sweeper round. Isn’t this what some of our council tax is supposed to be for?
I dread to think what the new images on google street view will look like, certainly won’t give a very good impression of the residential areas when everywhere is looking so scruffy.
Well said Pippin. Absolutely agree. And well done for keeping your little bit tidy. I am the same. I have just litter picked Los Altos Park this morning. Though to be fair, there wasn’t very much, some people who care, regularly pick the park of litter. Once the kids break up from school for the summer the amount of litter will increase.
We have been doing the council job too last year and again this year on the curb outside our house we are o.a.ps , we can do this job no trouble but why should we , the council will have 3 men doing this job with barriers cones and helmets, all suited up for about half an hour’s job. , we have pride in the area where we live that’s why we have done it. Would like a tax rebate. And pay less tax , if this job has been remove.
Well,if you are o.a.p’s, you must have lots of time on your hands, you don’t have to go to the garden centre every f’n day,or the tip with one bag of weeds! Innit tho ?
I saw this new system of weeding in operation recently A gang of men on there hands and knees scraping the weeds from the kerb edges. This method means the roots are still in tact and will grow back in a couple of weeks. The cost to the tax payer is huge. Why not just leave
the weeds which will be great food for the insects. It cannot damage the tarmac as most of the
pavements are already falling to bits. This is a great opportunity to go green and cut costs.
They have just done my road weeds taken out by hand and then left in the middle of the road ready for picking up later. This happened hours later so Road looks a mess
Exactly, do not count me as a resident complaining, let the wild plants grow , humans don’t have the right to destroy things because they think (!!!) They are untidy ,keep your garden as you want it ,the rest belongs to all of us .
I thought it was because of the lock downs that they could not do their rounds. Did not realise the quad bike had been removed. I normally don’t really care about appearances, I’m a scruffy chap. But even I thought ‘wow this is looking bad’. Get all the drunk drivers walking the streets doing it. They may think twice about drink driving if they know they have to walk 30 miles a day for two weeks.
Community service could do all this type of work
I have noticed how many weeds are growing everywhere you go around the island. Looks as if nothing is being done to control them. The verges look very unkept also. Now I know you have the ‘lets keep the natural look’ brigade but it does make the place look very untidy. The footpaths are not swept and there is a lot of overgrown bushes almost blocking footpaths and walkways.
Yes, we don’t care about the environment, as long as everything looks “tidy” and pleasing to us humans, who cares what wild species gets knocked out? After all, if we go on destroying the Natural world the way we have done, it won’t make any difference to us will it? We’ll still be here in our sterile tidy clean and straight lined world. – Um actually, we won’t be, because we actually depend on the environment to live, but we are intent on destroying it, so how do we get round that unpalatable fact? Why we must find a way that we can still go on destroying it, but still live in it. Really, I despair.
Plant Bee friendly plants in your garden, if you’ve got one? Feed the birds, I spend a fortune on bird food. Insects and bugs are plentiful on the island. Look at all our lovely open spaces, countryside is plentiful. But in and around our communities and Towns, the place must be kept tidy. If the visitors stop coming here, you’ll start bleeting on about our failing economy!
I think I’d prefer it if a lot of visitors stopped coming here. And quite honestly what would make many people stop coming is if the place looks like a concrete jungle. Oh wait, that’s already happened in Ryde. Hardly any greenery anywhere. And I’d dearly love to have a garden to plant bee friendly plants in. Some of us don’t have that luxury. My friend does have a wildlife friendly garden but is hated by all the neighbours as they seem to hate having anything growing and want everything covered in hard surfaces. Walking along on a hot day and all dry dusty hard surfaces everywhere, such a relief to find a tree to shelter under but few and far between, so many front gardens turned to concrete or gravel. Horrible.
Or terrible plastic grass ,yuk !!
Well said ,you are not alone in your opinion, to many old fashioned ideas around that need to change !
These are not weeds they are wildflowers and great for wildlife-please give them a break-spraying roundup is not really very environmentally friendly either-is it?
Plantlife has been trying to work with the local councils to help protect wild plants, but I’m afraid they’re fighting a losing battle if the majority of people are anything to go by. All they care about is “tidiness”, they don’t care if whole species are wiped out as long as everything looks to their liking. There should be new laws to protect the Natural world, despite what selfish humans want, they need re-educating.
I know the difference between a WEED and a WILD FLOWER. There are many weeds growing where weeds shouldn’t!!!
We don’t want quad bikes on the pavement why can’t those on community service or what is now called unpaid work or those on benefits earn their money
That exactly what happens in many parts of Spain, along with painting and some general maintenance. Consequently, so many towns and villages look spotless. Make the feckless earn their money!
We pay council rates for the up keep of our residental area , so why have weed control stoped . It can cause habitat for rats, pigeons , and all other kind of unpleasant things .If the council has stoped this service then we should have a cut on our council rates. We had to do this job ourselves last year and again this year on the curb of our house with no safety hat ect , we are o.a.ps and shouldn’t have to do this . To keep our residental area tidy.
The unpleasant things are mainly the humans, most of whom it seems are not even true Island people but have come to live here from areas in towns and cities elsewhere and expect the Island to be the same. Weeds are just native plants growing where some people don’t want them. I like seeing wild plants growing by the roadside on by the kerb, many of them provide pollination for useful insects. The environment is in such a state precisely because humans are so intent on destroying it, and the cumulative effect of removing so many wild plants is one way in which this is happening.
Stag lane is terrible, have to trek through 1 m high weeds from my car to the path just to get to work daily
My husband and I chatted to a couple on holiday. They had visited the island in 1994 and could not believe how run down the island had become. They agreed the scenery is wonderful but with shops and hotels empty and left to rot it gives the impression of a poorly looked after place. They said walking down most streets they could see some houses that were cared for next to ones that were either boarded up or had peeling paintwork. This must be the visual impact on most of the visitors to our island.
Most of the worst ones are second home owners who don’t give a toss cos they rent it out using old photos from years before. Then when they are bored with it they just sell it on and let the new owners discover the problems and sort them out
Yes its a disgrace other parts of country are not like this and we’re supposed to be a tourist destination. I clear mine but nobody else seems to in my area . The quad bike came down last yr he drove down cent of rd with the hose horizontal spraying everyone s gardens not even touching pavements hence they grew to nearly metre high and same this yr. All these weeds will eventually die off and be washed down the drains and they wonder why we get floods !!!!
Every time Island Roads are questioned about their atrocious service and debatable road maintenance, they quote “The Contract”. Hopefully the new IOW council will begin to close all the loopholes that seem to exist in this extraordinary 20 plus year piece of paper.
I am a pensioner with arthritis; I was in agony the other day after clearing outside of our house, and gathered a wheelbarrow full of weeds and dirt which I have now got to get rid of. A huge well done to the idiot that came up with this idea. How much rebate to my council tax will I get-not a damn thing. Someone is having a good laugh over all this, as well as making our island look like a third world country.